The Harbinger's Successor
by reikat
Summary: After a night of passion to deal with their grief over losing Kodlak Whitemane, Eriah and Farkas learn of the late Harbinger's desire to name the Dragonborn as his successor. Takes place after Death of the Harbinger. One-shot.


Early one morning, Eriah stirred from her sleep. As she woke up, she registered her lack of clothing and sighed as the previous night came to mind. The day before, she, Aela, and the twins had traveled to Ysgramor's Tomb and she freed Kodlak Whitemane's soul from his lycanthropy. They had made it in time before he was taken to Hircine's Hunting Grounds and they were relieved that he was on his way to Shor's Hall. The sadness of losing him remained in spite of his rescue from the Huntsman. The late Harbinger had been like a father to the Companions and his death by the Silver Hand had hit them all hard. Vilkas had reacted with rage and vengeance, resulting in him denying Eriah the choice of either going with him to take out the survivors or staying at his twin's side. The Dragonborn still carried some residual resentment towards him for that but after it was all said and done, Vilkas had come to see the error of his ways and apologized. Eriah wasn't one to hold grudges but she told Vilkas that he had some reparations to make for blaming her for Kodlak's death and then dragging her all the way to the Pale on his revenge trip. He agreed without question, understanding that he had done serious harm to their own relationship as kin through marriage.

Upon returning to Whiterun after freeing Kodlak, Farkas had pulled her aside and asked if he could have her that night. She had agreed and paid for Lydia to stay at the Bannered Mare that night. It didn't take long after her housecarl's departure for armor and clothes to start coming off, the passion to start in earnest, and the Dragonborn quickly finding herself in bed with her husband. She flinched a bit as some scratches on her shoulder pulled, an accidental injury when Farkas nearly turned during their peak. Her control over her own wolf never slipped once because of her dragon soul's never-ending war with the intruding spirit but the latent powers of a werewolf meant the scratches weren't as bad as they would've been to a normal human. Their joining that night had been extremely physical on both their parts. It even blew their wedding night away. Eriah curled up on herself, wondering if they had done wrong because they had bedded each other over Kodlak's death. She wasn't ashamed in letting Farkas take her but she wondered if they were really justified in doing so to deal with their own grief.

She rolled over in bed and noticed she was alone. She wrestled down a brief surge of panic and sat up. She looked towards the door to see it open. A faint glow from downstairs told her that the hearth had been stoked back to life. Was Farkas down there? She got up and pulled one of the blankets around her shoulders, minding the scratches and her own precarious balance, as she headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. To her relief, Farkas was sitting in one of the chairs by the hearth. He had his pants on but his torso was still bare. He was contemplating the small fire, rubbing his hand over his face. "Farkas?" she said, almost in a whisper. "Did I wake you?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. "No. I was afraid you left me." she admitted. The man turned in his chair to give her something of a surprised look. He took in the sight of his wife, the afterglow still in her face, and he thought she looked more beautiful to him than she ever had. He got up and went up to her. "I would never leave you. Not after everything we've been through together and especially not after last night." he assured her, wrapping his arms around her. Eriah leaned her head to his chest, letting one of her hands leave the blanket she held to herself to hold him in return.

She did feel a little foolish for letting fear of him walking away from her take root but on the other hand, things were in a state of upheaval with the Companions and no one felt safe at the moment. Kodlak's role as the Harbinger was merely one of council and mentor-ship. He didn't lead the Companions but everyone naturally gravitated to him as a sort of leader. He was the glue that held them all together with his wisdom and natural charisma. With him gone, several of the less seasoned Companions wondered if their fellowship was over. The Dragonborn supposed her fear of her husband walking out on her was her own reaction to his death. "I'm so sorry I doubted you." she said. "You have nothing to apologize for. I know you're afraid right now. So am I. In fact, I was afraid that you were going leave me instead." Farkas admitted, causing Eriah to look up at him. "Never. I swore before Mara that I would stay by your side until the end of our days." she affirmed. With the blanket pinned between them, she wrapped both arms around Farkas tightly. He responded by burying his face in her hair. "Gods, I love you, Eriah." he said. "I love you, too." she replied.

Farkas pulled back, his eyes going to the scratches on her right shoulder. He vaguely remembered how that happened. Things had gotten very hot between them and some of the power that allowed him to turn had leaked out enough that his nails had sharped slightly into claws which he had then accidentally raked from her shoulder blade to the front. They were shallow due to her also being a werewolf but they must've stung. "Sorry about this." he said, running a finger over them in the air. Eriah smiled as the blanket slipped from that shoulder. "It's okay. I've been hurt worse. Besides, I gave back as good as I got." she said, with a slight chuckle. Indeed, Farkas wasn't without his own marks. He laughed along with her and the somewhat tense, fearful atmosphere broke. "Let's get those taken care of." he said, leading her to the dining table and sitting her down. Eriah waited while he grabbed a potion and a rag. He wet the rag and gently ran it over the scratches and she sighed as the healing properties got rid of any lingering pain. "Farkas...do you think we did wrong by what happened last night?" she asked.

"You mean did we dishonor Kodlak? I don't think so. I'm not the brightest man in the world but I think that he would've understood if he knew. I needed comfort and that was the only way I could think of at the time. You did, too, so we did what we felt needed to be done. If I put you in a tight spot, I would like to make it right." he explained. "It's okay. I guess I'm just overthinking things a bit. After all, everyone deals with grief differently." Eriah said. Farkas finished what he was doing and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him in kind. "I still need to sock Vilkas in the face for what he did to you." he then said. Eriah just nudged him a bit. "Don't, Farkas. You know your brother is a passionate man who was taking Kodlak's death hard. I just happened to be the unlucky soul who took the brunt of his anger because I wasn't there when it happened. He didn't hurt me and he did apologize, swearing to make it up to me." she said. "That's no excuse for what he did. He never should've dragged you into his vendetta and he should've thought of the fact that I needed you more than he did." her husband pretty much growled. It wasn't often that he legitimately got angry with his twin brother. Sharing the same face made it difficult at times because it was like looking into a mirror.

"I'm not excusing Vilkas, love. I'm just saying that he knows he owes me big time for that and I will deal with him when we've recovered sufficiently. I don't need you starting something with him and I don't want to be the reason a rift opens between you. He's my brother, too, and I want us to stay together as a family. Please, Farkas...don't be too hard on him when I have this under control." she pleaded. His silver eyes met her brown ones and softened a bit. "You always know how to diffuse my rather temperamental side. I could actually see you as Kodlak's successor. You remind me of him." he said. The Dragonborn smiled before pressing her lips to his. The lovers soon pulled apart and saw that the sun was breaking the horizon outside of Whiterun, judging from the lightening sky. "I'd better go get ready and then we should head to Jorrvaskr so we can decide what's going to happen to the Companions from here on out." Eriah said. "Good idea." Farkas said. He followed her up to the bedroom and they each got ready.

Eriah was grabbing her Elven warhammer when a knock was heard at the door. The couple went to answer it and it turned out to be Vilkas. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding but Aela and I discovered something in Kodlak's journal that you two need to see." he said. Eriah and Farkas exchanged a look before following him to the mead hall. When they entered, they saw that all of the Companions were there. Even Eorland and his brother, Vignar, who had displaced Balgruuf the Greater as Jarl of Whiterun, were in attendance. Aela came up to Eriah, holding Kodlak's journal. "You need to read this, shield-sister. Kodlak left us, you in particular, a message." the Huntress said, handing the leather-bound book to her. Eriah took it and opened it. The twins, Njada, Torvar, Ria, Athis, and Aela all stood back as she started to walk a bit as she read. She came to a halt and let out a strangled cry. "What is it, Eriah?" Ria asked, concerned as only Aela and Vilkas had read the book's contents. The Dragonborn turned to the company, her eyes swimming. "Kodlak, he...he named me Harbinger." she said. "He did, indeed. Seems the old man actually foresaw your arrival in a dream and foresaw how you would free him from the curse." Vilkas said.

Due to the fact that Kodlak had turned during the Silver Hand's attack, it was no longer a secret to the lower rung Companions that the Circle were all werewolves. Eriah clutched the book in her hands as she looked at each of her friends. "But...I can't be the Harbinger. Not when I'm prone to wander around Skyrim weeks at time so I can help people." she said. "We know. That's why we all came together and decided that you should choose one of us to serve as your second whenever you're not in Whiterun. Remember that the Harbinger isn't our leader. We're fully capable of making our own choices when it comes to the jobs requested of us. All you have to do is settle disputes as they arise and act as a mentor. Kodlak chose you to succeed him because you're as levelheaded as he was. Vilkas is too brash and Farkas is too soft. Skjor is gone. And me, I'm not leadership material. It has to be you." Aela explained. Eriah looked down at the book.

Aela had a point. Kodlak had said as much in his journal and, given the lack of objections to Aela's words, the rest of the Circle knew Kodlak spoke truthfully on their temperaments. And it was also true that the role of the Harbinger wasn't as a traditional leader, meaning she wasn't about to be tied down to Jorrvaskr. She could still walk on the path she had chosen from the moment she set foot in Skyrim. "Do you...all agree with Kodlak? Do you think I'm worthy of being your next Harbinger?" she asked the company. To everyone's surprise, Njada stepped forward first. "I never saw what was special about you, Eriah. Sure, you can slay dragons and steal their souls. Hell, you're also a werewolf in addition to that. Kind of makes you something of a freak. I will come out right now and say I've never liked you." she said. The Dragonborn could sense her husband and brother-in-law's proverbial hackles rise a bit but Njada surprised them all again by sighing and shaking her head. "But we're the Companions and Kodlak was a good man. I trust his judgement so allow me to be the first to accept you as a true Companion and as our new Harbinger. I still don't like you or anything about this but I swear on my honor as a Companion that I won't make trouble." she said.

Her vote of confidence stunned everyone present. Njada was a loner by nature and had never really liked the idea that Eriah had risen to the Circle as quickly as she had or the fact she was even there to start with. Athis, Ria, and Torvar all agreed on her promotion so Eriah then turned to her family and Aela. "And what does the rest of the Circle say?" she asked, feeling a bit more confident. "I will follow you to the ends of the earth." Farkas said. "My sword will rise in your defense now as always, sister." Aela affirmed. Eriah then looked at Vilkas. "Kodlak has spoken and I agree. You're the best of us all, Eriah, and for that, I will follow you." he said. The Dragonborn smiled as she looked down at the journal. "So we're all agreed. Let's hear it for our new Harbinger." Aela said. Shouts went up and the future of the Companions seemed bright once more. Farkas embraced his wife and they were approached by Vilkas as the rest of the Companions broke out the mead to drink to her promotion. "I think I have an idea of how to make my previous behavior up to you." he said, rubbing the back of his head with his eyes aimed at the floor.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, curiosity. "You said that when you fought the witches at Glenmoril Coven, one of them was incinerated and one managed to escape, right? Let me make it my personal mission to track that witch down so that you can be freed of this curse." he said, straightening up. "You would do that for me?" Eriah asked in surprise. "I know you still have two heads left. My brother and I have decided to follow Kodlak to Sovngarde. Neither of us can stand of the thought of you still suffering under Hircine's curse after we're freed, even though you say that Akatosh's claim on your soul as Dragonborn trumps any claim made by the Daedra." Vilkas confirmed. In spite of everything that happened, Eriah threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly. Turning a bit red and not sure where to put his hands, he just looked helplessly at Farkas who started laughing. "Thank you for this, Vilkas." Eriah said, pulling back. The shorter-haired twin just rubbed his head, embarrassed. Farkas came to stand beside his brother and threw an arm around his neck. "You know, you should be thanking her as well. She talked me out of socking you in the face for what you did." he said with a grin.

"Oh did she?" Vilkas said before elbowing him in the gut. Eriah just laughed as the twins had a playful brawl, which ended with Farkas putting Vilkas in a headlock. "Go on, brother. Tell my wife thank you." the brawnier twin said. "Yes, yes. Thank you, Eriah, and I won't let you down." the brainier one said. The Dragonborn reached out with a smile and, with a returned one on his part, the two grasped wrists. "Let's look back on this day as proof that our kinship has survived tragedy." she said. "Aye." Vilkas agreed. Eriah turned and got the rest of the Companions' attention. "Before you get too far into your tankards, Aela did bring up the idea for me to choose a second to handle things if I'm not here to handle them. I would like Vilkas to take the honor. Hot-headed fool of a Nord he is, I'm proud to call him my brother and I know he can handle the job. What say you?" she announced. A resounding round of ayes settled the matter. Vilkas was rather surprised with the responsibility he had been given. "Thank you, Eriah." he said. "Don't make me regret this." she said, with a smile and a wink. Farkas clapped his brother on the back, challenging him to a drinking contest. Eriah stood by a pillar and smiled.

 _"I think we'll be okay, Kodlak. The Companions will grow stronger for this tragedy. Be at peace and may we meet again in Sovngarde."_


End file.
